Configurable safety relays help prevent injuries and damage in factory automation systems by cutting off electrical power in response to data received from sensors. When a safety relay fails, the production line must be halted until the relay can be repaired or replaced, resulting in expensive downtime. Phoenix Contact Electronics engineers use ANSYS software to develop a digital twin of its safety relays that will integrate real-time sensor data with simulation results to predict failures in advance. The relay can then be replaced or repaired while the line is not operating.

Companies in every industry feel the pressure to launch groundbreaking new electricity generating and consuming products ahead of the competition, and at an attractive price point. Using engineering simulation, organizations can affordably solve complex technical problems related to electrification — and rapidly
launch innovations that position their organization for market leadership.

When lightning strikes an automobile, the metal frame provides the path of least impedance to the ground, protecting the vehicle’s occupants from injury. But as lightning flows over the frame or through the vehicle's electrical systems, it can damage sensitive components or even melt solder joints. The amount of electronics in vehicles is on the rise, so protection from lightning is becoming more important than ever. Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, with support from ESSS, the ANSYS channel partner in South America, uses ANSYS electromagnetic field simulation software to model lightning strikes and predict their impact on vehicle electronics so that future vehicles can be designed to be more resistant to damage.

The market for electric power generation equipment is growing more competitive every day, with customers demanding more reliable, eco-friendly products at lower cost. Marelli Motori meets these demands using ANSYS Maxwell, ANSYS Mechanical and ANSYS CFD in multiphysics simulations to deliver the tailor-made solutions their customers have come to rely on. More recently, they have begun using ANSYS Discovery Live to obtain instantaneous simulation results with every on-the-fly change to a product’s geometry or operating conditions, greatly reducing design time.

By moving solar panels to follow the sun across the sky, solar trackers can generate more power. These solar power plants can be damaged at high wind speeds. CPP Wind Engineering used simulation to determine the cause of failure and to identify operating procedures and design changes that can prevent them

Vibrations from large power generators can steadily weaken their own supporting structures over time. By themselves, pure analytical models of the strain history on the metal frame are not nearly accurate enough without good experimental correlation. Cummins developed a new spin on a decades-old challenge of generator set durability modeling by integrating True-Load’s strain correlation models with its overall structural analysis in ANSYS Mechanical to rev up its simulation workflow.

The switched reluctance motor (SRM) is a potential contender for the next-generation electric vehicle traction motor because of its low cost, high efficiency, and ability to operate at higher temperatures and in other harsh environments. However, SRMs are prone to torque ripple which can generate troublesome noise in vehicles. Continuous Solutions used ANSYS Maxwell electromagnetic simulation software to reduce torque ripple by 90 percent and total noise by 50 percent in an SRM that will be used in the electrification of traction vehicles for agriculture machinery, mining machinery, and civil and tactical applications.

The increasing electrification of the world around us — from transportation to industrial machines — is changing the nature of energy production, distribution and consumption. And these changes are significantly impacting traditional product development processes. The use of electronic systems and components can mean a new degree of engineering complexity and introduce design considerations that did not exist before. Yet product development teams still must meet ambitious delivery schedules, aggressive cost targets and stringent regulatory requirements. Given these challenges, engineering simulation is a competitive imperative for those engineering teams participating in the next electrification revolution.

Developing a vehicle to compete in the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb is a test for engineers around the world. Volkswagen Motorsports engineers were determined to build a car that could compete with the best but they had less than a year to do it — and the car would be electrically powered. Using determination, ingenuity and aided by multiphysics simulation the Volkswagen team smashed the race’s all-time electric speed record.